1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device including a semiconductor chip and metal electrode terminals adhered to the semiconductor chip so as to form a heat-radiation system for the semiconductor chip, and a method for assembling such a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, in a prior art semiconductor device includes a vertical-type power metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET) chip and metal electrode terminals adhered to the opposite principal faces of the MOSFET chip, the metal electrode terminals are arranged so as to form a heat-radiation system because the MOSFET chip generates a large amount of heat during the operation thereof, as disclosed in, for example, US2002/0179994 A1, U.S. Pat. No. 6,841,865 B2 and JP-H11-074456 A.
Nevertheless, the prior art semiconductor devices fail in diminishing a mounting area which is occupied by the semiconductor device when being mounted on a circuit board, as discussed in detail hereinafter.
On the other hand, U.S. Pat. No. 7,030,445 B2 discloses another prior art semiconductor device which allows considerably diminishing a mounting area which is occupied by the semiconductor device when being mounted on a circuit board.